Macau looms large on the iniquitous edges of Asia. It is a city of sin: filled with casinos, prostitutes and any other vice or luxury one could imagine. In many ways this is business as usual. Trafficking of women and general skullduggery date back to the earliest days of the Portuguese colony at the turn of the 16th century. Now the stakes are much higher though, and for many visitors, money is not an object. Macau currently draws the biggest “whales” in the world and most of these high rollers come straight out of mainland China. The increase in gambling revenues in Macau is unprecedented. Galaxy Entertainment tripled its profits during 2011, and the entire casino industry is already up 20% in the first quarter of this year compared to last. Macau outperforms the Las Vegas Strip nearly six times over and there is no end in sight.

The already outrageous revenues posted by Macau casinos also appear to be the tip of the iceberg. It is largely acknowledged that a massive amount of cash moves through V.I.P. gambling rooms where high-stake bets are off the books. No one knows how deep that well goes. Money laundering and connections to triads run rampant through the “junkets” who shuttle wealthy mainland Chinese gamblers into Macau and collect their debts elsewhere in order to bypass currency limitations at the border. Macau is riding the tails of China’s economic boom and catering to the extravagant tastes of the Chinese nouveau riche looking to flex their often illicit financial muscles.

At the top of the pyramid are two of the world’s richest men: Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson (also the largest contributor to Newt Gingrich’s campaign efforts). Both are in heated competition to rule Macau as their fortunes continue to skyrocket despite serious allegations of corruption and a spotty track record. A WikiLeaks spinoff called CasinoLeaks – Macau offers up condemning fare based on collected public records. Be sure to read Evan Osnos’ article in The New Yorker that features my photography. He does an amazing job navigating this intricate web of sordidness. More photographs that didn’t make the cut can be seen below.

After a four-year, $380 million refurbishment, the National Museum of China finally opened its doors to the public as the largest exhibition space on the planet, beating out both the Louvre in Paris and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Even though now touted as one of the world’s premiere cultural institutions, it has failed to impress either international or domestic visitors with it’s shrill depiction of the history of the Chinese Communist Party in its centerpiece “The Road of Rejuvenation” exhibition. Key epochs such as the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are left out of its glossy displays and poorly translated placards. Still, such a propagandistic history of modern China was expected in the first place. What really shocked many visitors was the blatant commercialization of the National Museum of China within its first two design exhibitions: “Louis Vuitton Voyages” and “Bulgari: 125 Years of Italian Magnificence.” Museum directors claim such exhibitions are revitalizing interest in the space, but it is more a sellout at the heart of the nation a stone’s throw from Mao Zedong’s tomb. Critics remain baffled as to how such a key cultural institution could blatantly promote such crass consumerism, especially surrounding the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party which was also linked to an exhibition of historical paintings adjacent to vintage Louis Vuitton trunks and sparkling Bulgari jewels. Such opulent items stand counter to the core ideologies of the founding fathers of the Chinese Communist Party celebrated a short distance away, as well as the core mission of the museum itself that is purportedly dedicated to promoting Chinese culture instead of foreign luxury brands. These photographs juxtapose the “The Road of Rejuvenation” and “Masterpieces of Modern Chinese Fine Arts” exhibitions advocating the socialist roots of the Chinese Communist Party with the champagne-fueled openings of the “Louis Vuitton Voyages” and “Bulgari: 125 Years of Italian Magnificence” exhibitions. Such paradoxes stand at the center of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to rectify its embrace of rampant free-market consumerism with its socialist heritage.

As new cities continue to spring up across China almost overnight, real estate developers are taking architecture and urban design in wildly different directions to tap into the lucrative luxury housing market. Tianducheng/天都城 was one of those hopelessly trying to set a bold new precedent for modern and cultured living with it’s fake Eiffel Tower overlooking Parisian townhouses. The knockoff of the 13th arrondissement, however, remains sparsely populated and only draws well-heeled clientele to its adjacent resort and villas modeled after Fontainebleau Palace. For now, many of the apartments are occupied by groups of migrant laborers working on surrounding megablocks, while other locals have gone so far as to appropriate the green space surrounding the Eiffel Tower for private ad hoc farming plots. Otherwise Tianducheng along with the attached French-themed village park is mainly used as a backdrop for wedding photography companies hoping to give young Chinese couples a taste of The City of Light while balancing their desire for traditional nuptial observances.

Indonesian hardcore is back. A growing number of youth, disaffected by high rates of unemployment and conservative social mores, are returning to hardcore musical roots that first emerged in Java during the early nineties. Looking to blow off steam and build an alternative community that doesn’t bow to sponsors or mainstream media restrictions, these teenagers like the tempo loud, strong and fast. By employing DIY tactics on the Internet and through mobile phones, they continue to establish larger networks of peers and fellow outsiders. The swelling ranks of Indonesian hardcore fans now organize shows in abandoned houses, art centers and empty storefronts across the country. These communal affairs, put on purely for the sake of the music, often showcase up to twenty bands playing short, fiery sets of hardcore music as well as other outlying subgenres of metal and punk. The mosh pits may appear violent but fighting is not tolerated and after the shows most fans hang around and enjoy the camaraderie of their peers. The hardcore community in Java promotes tolerance and diversity and also continues to redefine the role of women in the largest Muslim nation on the planet. Check out the video below for a more detailed look into the Indonesian hardcore scene on Java.

International vacations are a must for the burgeoning number of nouveau riche across China. A well-used passport is a sure sign of fulfilling a “modern” and “cultured” lifestyle and completes the trifecta of high social status along with ownership of multiple homes and foreign luxury cars. Even in the face of the global economic downturn, China continues to boast the fastest growing outbound tourism market in the world. In 2009, the average expenses paid by Chinese for international travel went up 21% and will continue to grow as more and more flex their purchasing muscle. In Shenzhen, however, a favorite travel destination remains the Windows on the World. A short subway ride from the city center, the park boasts over a hundred small-scale replicas of famous monuments and buildings from all over the world. Here Chinese can fantasize about visiting foreign countries and practice taking tourist photographs. This make-believe space is one of consumer indoctrination and a selling point for a notion of civility that will most likely prove as empty as other social movements in China’s past.

Moscow bears the historical stigma of a brooding city fringed with murder, corruption and greed. Now these grim trappings of the Russian psyche have found a home underground. The Dostoevskaya Moscow Metro station, named in honor of Russia’s dark prince of literature, delves into the most gruesome nooks of Dostoevsky’s oeuvre. The graphic nature of the murals even went so far as to delay its opening earlier this year. A prominent Russian psychologist, Mikhail Vinogradov, declared before the unveiling, “The deliberate dramatism will create a certain negative atmosphere and attract people with an unnatural psyche.” There is no doubt that death hangs heavy over the polished marble of Dostoevskaya with depictions of Raskolnikov wielding an ax against an elderly pawnbroker and her sister from Crime and Punishment and the suicide-obsessed Kirillov holding a gun to his head from The Demons. Concerned Muscovites fear the station might become a magnet for those contemplating suicide, adding to the almost eighty committed on a yearly basis in the Moscow Metro. However, after my own visit, I felt such concerns are unwarranted. The entire station inspired a sense of reverence and awe. I felt like I was meandering through a church instead of a public transportation hub. The aura of Dostoevskaya was only punctured when a train screeched into the station and let off another teeming load of commuters. The artist behind the murals, Ivan Nikolayev, remains rightfully unapologetic, “What did you want? Scenes of dancing? Dostoevsky doesn’t have them.”

Just days before Barbie’s 50th birthday last March, the House of Barbie opened its doors in Shanghai and introduced China to over six floors of Barbie merchandise and services that catered to almost every need of a Barbie-princess-in-training. It was a full on Barbie assault from the start as you rode an entrance escalator bathed in pink light with the sound of giggling girls playing in the background. Aside from a daunting array of Barbie doll varieties, there was also a Barbie spa offering services such as the Plastic Smooth facial or Barbie Bust Firming treatment, a Barbie catwalk where girls can dress up as Barbie and put on their own fashion show, a Barbie design center where creatives can produce a custom-made Barbie, and a Barbie Cafe complete with Barbie-themed food and a pink martini bar. The Barbie spearhead into China came with a US$30 million dollar price tag and huge expectations. Sales of Barbie continue to fall with the financial downturn and Mattel International is counting on China to pick up the slack. With the spa and martini bar, the House of Barbie also hopes to stir up interest amongst older women in China who otherwise wouldn’t be targeted in western markets. Major designers such as Vera Wang, Patricia Field of “Sex and the City” fame, and handbag maker Judith Lieber all contributed to the merchandise including a US$15,000 Barbie wedding dress. Barbie, known as “Ba Bi Wa Wa” in Mandarin, still faces plenty of hurdles without the pedigree heritage she enjoys in western countries. Despite initial enthusiasm for the business model, Mattel was forced to downgrade sales expectations by 30% within the first six months of opening the House of Barbie. The interest is there, but whether or not Barbie can have her way with China and engender a new generation of Barbie princesses is yet to be scene. Check out more coverage by the Wall Street Journal and BBC as well as a CNN report detailing a blow-by-blow account of trying to spend twelve hours straight in the House of Barbie.

This post must start with a disclaimer. I do not in any way believe in or support the acts performed in this video. I can only hope for greater understanding and congenial relations between China and Japan in the future. This act of flag burning was filmed purely for documentary reasons. The event occurred on the first night of the 2010 Zhenjiang MIDI Festival after a particular rousing performance by a death metal band. The kids are singing the Chinese national anthem while burning the Japanese flag. The first night of the festival also landed on October 1 which is China’s National Holiday. It goes without saying that tensions between China and Japan have peaked in the past week thanks to the standoff over sovereignty issues regarding the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat on disputed waters in the East China Sea by Japan’s coast guard. This friction and general hatred of the Japanese runs deep and dates back to the brutal and humiliating treatment suffered in China at the hands of the Japanese during World War II. Even though the Chinese captain in question has since been released, the incident ignited the embers amongst China’s increasingly nationalistic youth.

I recently put together a short video for the Activate! China program at the Dandelion School in Beijing. The Parsons The New School for Design and Dandelion School collaboration introduced Dandelion students to the basics of computer literacy and game design. The project led by Parsons faculty and MFA Design and Technology graduate students utilized Activate!, a game design curriculum designed by PETLab, a research group that investigates social issues through the use of games and interactive media.

The Dandelion School is the first and only registered Middle School in the Daxing District of Beijing serving children of poor migrant families. The school was founded in August 2005 by a passionate educator named Zheng Hong who, after obtaining a MA from Harvard University, came back to China on a mission to transform a dilapidated old factory into a viable school serving the underprivileged.

The project began with the creation of the “AMD and Parsons Technology Lab” at Dandelion. The computer lab is an advanced multimedia and technology hub for the students at Dandelion providing computer skill training and digital tools that are not commonly accessible to migrant communities. 30 brand new desktop computers were also donated by AMD Foundation for the lab. There are lots of opportunities to volunteer at the Dandelion School. Make sure to check out their website.